It's encouraging to see such a striking reduction in the number of people having a stroke in the past 16 years. Public health campaigns around the risk factors for stroke, such as high blood pressure and smoking are helping people to take control of their health and reduce their risk of stroke. This reduction, however, is not being mirrored in those under 45 years old, and the black population, where the incidence of stroke remains high.

We know that the African-Caribbean community are at greater risk of sickle cell disease, diabetes and high blood pressure - conditions that can lead to stroke. This means they are twice as likely to have a stroke compared to the white population. In addition, haemorrhagic stroke, caused by bleeding within or around the brain, is more common in younger adults.

Stroke changes lives in an instant and can have a devastating physical and emotional impact on not only the stroke survivor, but their family and carers as well. To help reduce stroke across the whole population, we all need to take steps to reduce our risk.